Sink enclosure

ABSTRACT

A decorative enclosure to cover exposed plumbing fixtures beneath a sink comprises a rigid shield having an upper edge shaped to conform to the bottom edge of the sink apron. The shield has a front surface which extends downwardly and slopes toward the rear of the sink, engaging the wall at a point above the floor. The shield is held in place by a plurality of vertical tabs on the upper edge which engage the inside of the edge of the sink, and by springs which attach to the inside of the shield body and to the plumbing fixture under the sink.

Langston I145] Oct. 28, 1975 SINK ENCLOSURE [76] Inventor: Orville Edward Langston, 6328 Burgundy Way, Las Vegas, Nev. 89107 [22] Filed: June 3, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 475,568

[52] US. Cl. 312/204; 4/166; 312/210; 312/228; 312/249 [51] Int. Cl. ..A47B 97/00; A47K 1/06;

A47K 3/14;A47K 3/18 [58] Field of Search 312/138 R, 210, 204, 228, 312/229; 52/34, 35; 4/166, 187, 5

[56] 1 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,408,402 2/1922 Rogers 1,658,944 2/1928 Schaeffer 4/5 3,487,478 1/1970 Harris 312/210 X Primary Examiner-Paul R. Gilliam Assistant Examiner-Carl F. Pietruszka Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Edward J. Quirk [57] ABSTRACT A decorative enclosure to cover exposed plumbing fixtures beneath a sink comprises a rigid shield having an upper edge shaped to conform to the bottom edge of the sink apron. The shield has a front surface which extends downwardly and slopes toward the rear of the sink, engaging the wall at a point above the floor. The shield is held in place by a plurality of vertical tabs on the upper edge which engage the inside of the edge of the sink, and by springs which attach to the inside of the shield body and to the plumbing fixture under the sink.

4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent Oct. 28, 1975 FIGURE l.

FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 4'.

shown in FIG. 1.

SINK ENCLOSURE BACKGROUND OETHE INVENTION,

Feb. 23, 1971, discloses a floor-mounted vanity cabinet having and shelves which can be fit to an existing sink. Another device which provides storage space in the front of a sink is disclosed in Service, U.S. Pat. No. 3,292,983, issued Dec. '20, 1966. These devices 'are functional as well as decorative, and have several parts which require separate manufacture and assembly, and are therefore relatively expensive for use in low-income housing. In addition, many existing sinks are too small to have vanities or cabinets installed underneath the sink.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a decorative shield for a sink to enclose unsightly plumbing fixtures from view.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a sink shield which is easily and inexpensively manufactured from plastic materials. I

It is a further object of the invention to provide a onepiece sink shield which is easily attached and quickly removable.

' SUMMARY or THE INVENTION A decorative enclosure for covering exposed plumbing fixtures beneath a sink comprises a shield having an upper edge shaped to conform to and engage the bottom edge of the sink apron, and having a front surfacewhich slopes downwardly and rearwardly from the upper edge so as to engage the wall on which the sink is mounted above the level of the floor, and fastening means to maintain the shield in a fixed position beneath the sink.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a shield in place under a sink, with a cutaway showing the spring fastening means holding the shield in place.

FIG. 2 shows a top perspective view of a shield of the invention.

FIG. 3 shows a difierent shape shield from the shield FIG. 4 is a cutaway side view of the shield in place.

DETAILED DESCRIPTIONOF THE INVENTION Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows sink 1 having drain pipe 2 and hot and cold water inlet pipes 3 and 4, respectively, below sink bowl 5. Rigid sink shield 6, comprising side panels 7 and 8 and front panel 9, is

shown in place under the sink, with the upper edge 10 side of the shield; hook 17 on the other end of spring '14 is attached to the hot water inlet pipe. In a similar manner, hook 19 on the end of spring is attached to the eye inprojection 21 located on the opposite side of the inside of the shield from the eye in projection 18, and'hook 20 on the other end of the spring is attached to the cold water inlet pipe. Projections I8 and 21 act solely as receivingmeansfor the spring hooks. When the shield is in place, springs 14 and 15 are undertension and continually urge the shield backward toward the'wall and upward toward the sink apron, thus holdingthe shield firmly in place. I 5

Referring to FIG; 4, the upper edge of the shield is restrained from moving laterally when the shield is in place by a plurality of tabs 24, which fit underneath and behind sink apron 1'1. In'bne embodiment of the invention, the tabs 24 engaging the front part of the sink apron are simply vertical extensions located on the inner edge of optional horizontal ledge 23 which is located atthe top of front panel 9. The tabs may simply be rectangular plastic blocks which can be attached to the shield after fabrication by glue or other suitable adhesive; alternatively the tabs may be molded as an integral part of the shield. A more detailed view showing the placement of tab 24 behind the front apron of sink 1 is shown in FIG. 4. When the shield is in place, the tabs prevent lateral displacement of the shield with respect to the sink.

FIG. 3 shows a different embodiment of the invention, showing a wrap-around design more suitable for a more round-shaped sink than the one shown in FIG. I. The design of FIG. 3 does not have side panels, but rather has a rounded contour. In FIG. 3, shield 25 has lateral alignment tabs 24 located on the upper edge 27. Another design consists of a rounded top similar to FIG. 3, but having a flat bottom, resulting in a shield shaped likea vertically sectioned cylinder. Many other shapes of enclosures may be developed within the scope of the invention, the limiting features being the contour of the sink apron, and the requirement that the pipes beneath the sink be covered by the shield.

The shield of the invention is easily fabricated from fiberglass or plastic material, such as polyethylene, polypropylenq nylon, polystyrene, polyvinylchloride, or even a synthetic structural foam such as polystyrene or polyurethane. The shield may be injection molded or vacuum 'formed from sheet plastic, or may be formed by simply pressing a piece of heated sheet of thermoplastic. material into a mold. The ability to mold the shield from a single piece of plastic greatly reduces the steps required to produce the product, thus contributing to manufacturing economy. Fabrication of the shields is easily within the skill of one skilled in the art of forming plastic materials.

The shields may be made of varying shapes and sizes depending on the size of the sink involved and the location and size of the plumbing fixtures beneath the sink. In addition, the shields may be made in any color, or with a plurality of attractive designs on the surface.

The shield of the invention is easily installed, and may also be quickly and easily removed to service the plumbing. To install, the shield is placed under the sink with the front of the shield on the floor, and with ledge 23 forward, and with hooks 16 and 19 attached to projections l8 and 21 respectively. Hooks l7 and 20 are then attached to pipes 3 and 4, and the front part of the shield is lifted until it touches the sink apron. Then the unit is pressed downward and inward until the tabs 24 are in place underneath the sink.

I claim:

1. A decorative enclosure for covering exposed plumbingfixt ures beneath a-wall-mounted sink comprising a single-piece rigid shield extending from the periphery of the sink apron down around the plumbing fixtures and terminating at the wall, said shield having an upper edge located in a horizontal plane shaped to conform to and fit flush with the bottom edge of the sink apron and a rear edge located in a vertical plane such that the rear edge of the shield abuts the wall,

resilient tension coupling means removably attachable to the inside surface of the shield and to the plumbing fixtures, said tension coupling means maintaining said shield in place under the sink by urging the shield upwardly toward the underside of the sink and rearwardly toward said wall, and I 1 v attachment means on the inner surface of said shield for removably attaching'the resilient tension coupling means, said attachment means being accessible only from the inner surface of the shield.

2. The enclosure of claim '1 wherein the tension coupling means comprises at least one helical spring having two ends, fastening means at one end of the spring for removably attaching the spring to the inside of the shield, and fastening means at .the other end of the spring for removably attaching the other end of the spring to the plumbing fixtures. I

3. The enclosure of claim 1 having abutment means associated with the upper edge of the shield-for restricting lateral movement of the shield with respect to the sink.

4. The enclosure of claim 3 having abutment means associated with the upper edge of the shield for restricting lateral movement of the shield with respect to the sink. 

1. A decorative enclosure for covering exposed plumbing fixtures beneath a wall-mounted sink comprising a single-piece rigid shield extending from the periphery of the sink apron down around the plumbing fixtures and terminating at the wall, said shield having an upper edge located in a horizontal plane shaped to conform to And fit flush with the bottom edge of the sink apron and a rear edge located in a vertical plane such that the rear edge of the shield abuts the wall, resilient tension coupling means removably attachable to the inside surface of the shield and to the plumbing fixtures, said tension coupling means maintaining said shield in place under the sink by urging the shield upwardly toward the underside of the sink and rearwardly toward said wall, and attachment means on the inner surface of said shield for removably attaching the resilient tension coupling means, said attachment means being accessible only from the inner surface of the shield.
 2. The enclosure of claim 1 wherein the tension coupling means comprises at least one helical spring having two ends, fastening means at one end of the spring for removably attaching the spring to the inside of the shield, and fastening means at the other end of the spring for removably attaching the other end of the spring to the plumbing fixtures.
 3. The enclosure of claim 1 having abutment means associated with the upper edge of the shield for restricting lateral movement of the shield with respect to the sink.
 4. The enclosure of claim 3 having abutment means associated with the upper edge of the shield for restricting lateral movement of the shield with respect to the sink. 